Mauritius has enacted legal reforms that recognise electronic bills of exchange, after it laid out plans to allow a broader range of electronic trade documents.
The Mauritian parliament on August 1 passed a finance bill that included amendments to the Bills of Exchange Act, bestowing legal recognition on the use of digital versions of the traditionally paper-based financing instrument.
While Mauritius’ trade is relatively modest, it is a finance and insurance hub for African trade, home to both commercial banks and funds.
Elsewhere, several banks and non-bank lenders, such as Citi and JP Morgan, have started using digital bills of exchange for trade financing, following UK legal reforms in 2023 that recognised digital trade documents.
In a budget speech in June, Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam announced the government would introduce an Electronic Trade Documents Bill that “will give legal recognition to digital bills of exchange and trade instruments, enabling fully digital trade finance and reinforcing our status as a modern regional trade hub”.
A “blueprint” published by the information technology ministry in May also flagged changes to laws governing electronic transactions, aimed at aligning the country with the Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records.
However, last week’s finance bill, which enacted many elements of the government’s budget and amended the Bills of Exchange Act, did not include provisions for an Electronic Trade Documents Bill.
The reforms establish a new framework for the use of electronic bills of lading, including that they can only be issued, accepted and endorsed if “created, managed and transferred using a reliable system”.
The legislation also provides criteria for what constitutes a reliable system and allows for a digital bill of exchange to be converted into a paper document.
The information technology ministry and prime minister’s office did not respond to questions from GTR.
